There’s a notion Wallace retired after the 2009-10 season because he no longer had the dedication to get in NBA shape and finished the Celtics year in poor condition. However, his mother — now in good health — was ill at the time of Wallace’s retirement, and that could have been a factor in his decision.

Though Kobe said Parker didn’t deserve to be in the NBA, Parker says he earned a spot on the Lakers. That didn’t matter to Kobe, who he says completely disrespected him.

“I had a workout with the Lakers, beat all the guards out for the starting position, earned a spot on the team. Midway through the first season, I tried to at least have a conversation with Kobe Bryant — he is my teammate, he is a co-worker of mine, I see his face every day I go in to work — and I tried to talk with him about football. He tells me I can’t talk to him. He tells me I need more accolades under my belt before I come talk to him. He was dead serious.”

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Parker described Kobe as someone who kept to himself. He says while he was on the Lakers, he never saw Kobe make an attempt to develop any kind of friendship with any one of his teammates.

“On road trips, he traveled with his security guards. Those were the guys he talked to. On the team plane, he sat in the back of the plane by himself.”

Parker even told a story about a time when the team was in Phoenix preparing for a playoff series against the Suns. Smush says that coach Phil Jackson gave Lamar Odom his black card to take the team out to a nice dinner as a bonding experience. Parker says the entire team sat at one table, and that Kobe Bryant had his own table in a corner.

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Parker also wanted to defend his character in light of his reputation as a bad guy.

He calls himself a “misunderstood player” who loves basketball. He says he displays the same kind of passion that star players show, but that there is a double-standard. Parker says stars are complimented for playing with passion, but if a lesser player shows that type of emotion, he is labeled as a player with a bad attitude.

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A lot more good stuff in the article. Parker comes out of this sounding a lot better than Kobe.

Midway through the first season, I tried to at least have a conversation with Kobe Bryant — he is my teammate, he is a co-worker of mine, I see his face every day I go in to work — and I tried to talk with him about football. He tells me I can’t talk to him. He tells me I need more accolades under my belt before I come talk to him. he is a co-worker of mine, I see his face every day I go in to work — and I tried to talk with him about football. He tells me I can’t talk to him. He tells me I need more accolades under my belt before I come talk to him

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I'm going to start using this strategy on my current job when talking to customer employees below C-level. As a consultant I think it could do me alot of good.